30% better fuel efficiency?

[ROX]

This article was just emailed to me. I thought I'd pass it along and let you folks have a look at it. Have a great weekend!

More Mileage for Hummers?
By LEE HAWKINS JR.
June 28, 2006

DETROIT -- With inventories of the Hummer H2 and H3 piling up amid high gas prices, two Detroit area Hummer dealerships are getting creative about boosting fuel efficiency. But the move has raised the eyebrows of General Motors Corp. and Hummer brand brass.

Detroit Hummer and Hummer of Novi are trying to woo consumers with what they call the "Mileage Maximizer," a mechanical modification they claim helps the hulking vehicles get 25 miles per gallon in highway driving. By comparison, an unaltered H3 gets 19 to 20 miles per gallon on the highway, according to Hummer spokesman Nick Richards.


A motorist gasses up her Hummer; two dealers claim they can increase the vehicle's mileage.
The improvements come at a price, though. GM and Hummer officials haven't endorsed the adjustments, and say they may not honor the warranties on the altered vehicles.

Even so, the promotion has helped ignite H2 and H3 sales at the two Detroit area locations, says Gary Krupa, general manager of Hummer of Novi. The dealerships are charging customers $189.95 for the "Mileage Maximizer." Mr. Krupa says they sold about a dozen modified Hummers in the first three weeks of the promotion. The chain is now considering modifying vehicles at other Detroit-area Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge stores it owns "within the next month or so," according to Russ Reimer, the service director who runs the service shops at both Hummer dealerships.

The modification uses a device manufactured by Air Synergy Labs Inc., one of hundreds of aftermarket parts companies across the country that are using homegrown methods to try to boost fuel efficiency. Spencer Robley, chairman and president of the Las Vegas-based company says his company's product -- which it calls a "Vortex Valve" -- can help drivers increase fuel efficiency as much as 30%, though he concedes there's no official verification of that claim. "Federal, state, local [government agencies], nobody will certify anything that has to do with us," Mr. Robley says. "Nobody wants to hang their hat on it and certify anything that has to do with mileage." The company says it has sold 120,000 valves since they launched the product in 1998; the Detroit area stores are the first car dealers to feature it.

According to Synergy Labs, the valve works by rechanneling and increasing the air that goes into a vehicle's intake manifold, allowing more oxygen to be present during engine combustion. As a result, the company claims, fuel is burned more efficiently. Mr. Robley says the technology can be used in any vehicle's engine and with any kind of fuel, including petroleum, hydrogen, and ethanol.

Hummer's Mr. Richards says that while GM hasn't had a chance to examine the vehicles, the company generally advises consumers and dealers against making tweaks. "We spend years optimizing everything for performance, ride and handling, overall vehicle efficiency, durability and long-term reliability and to meet current and future emission standards," he says. "We've got a lot of very smart engineers who have been doing this for their entire lives. If it were that simple, they would have already discovered it."

John Millett, a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates vehicle emissions, says the agency isn't aware of the Hummer promotion in Michigan, but warns that attempts to boost fuel economy can sometimes increase vehicle emissions. "It's safe to say, in general, that in any situation, tampering with the emissions controls devices on any vehicle certified by the EPA is against the law," Mr. Millett says.

Mr. Reimer at the Hummer dealerships contends that "if you are burning the gas better, you are actually creating [fewer] emissions....We've had some customers already call us back and say they have seen an improvement."

Write to Lee Hawkins Jr. at lee.hawkins@wsj.com

[KenP]

though he concedes there's no official verification of that claim.

BTW, you can get the Tornado type Vortex Valve for $69.95 + shipping from Synergy's web site.

[DRTYFN]

I wonder if someone used 3 of them in a row would they get 90% better fuel economy?

[ree]

Repost:
http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=19578

[ree]

Originally Posted by DRTYFN

I wonder if someone used 3 of them in a row would they get 90% better fuel economy?

Are you going to say 4 times = 120% better economy next time???
http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=291287&postcount=13

[ROX]

Sorry ree, I didn't realize it had been "In the news". However, I liked Paragon's post.

a turbo charger is like adding a high-pressure water pump to your water line.

that thing is like adding a toilet

Did anyone ever try one of these? How'd it go?

[DRTYFN]

Originally Posted by ree

Are you going to say 4 times = 120% better economy next time???
http://www.elcovaforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=291287&postcount=13

No way!!!! That could cause tear in the very fabric of reality.

[Mr. I - Man]

I heard that thing runs with 300% more efficiency than the Flux-capacitor

[OldHiker]

Originally Posted by Mr. I - Man

I heard that thing runs with 300% more efficiency than the Flux-capacitor

I have the HyperActive Flux-Capacitor and it works great. I get almost 75mpg!

[MarineHawk]

Originally Posted by OldHiker

I have the HyperActive Flux-Capacitor and it works great. I get almost 75mpg!

I hesitate to even mention the 700% increase in fuel efficiency I have experienced since I installed the Trail Duty Plutonium Oxide Injector.

[Mr. I - Man]

Maybe we all should e-mail Lee Hawkins our scientific findings on the use of The Flux Capacitor and Plutonium Oxide injector so he can have a broader range for comparison of empirical data in his control group, for further research & development on turning ordinary aluminum cans into recyclable energy and fuel saving devices!

It's a f**king miracle! Probably increeases horsepower tremendously too!

[MattRoberts123]

Ok guys, this may sound stupid, and maybe I missed something somewhere.. but no one seemed to discuss whether or not this thing really helped gas mileage??

[MarineHawk]

Originally Posted by MattRoberts123

Ok guys, this may sound stupid, and maybe I missed something somewhere.. but no one seemed to discuss whether or not this thing really helped gas mileage??

You might want to try the link on ree's first post and take whatever valuable inferences you may from the sarcastic responses herein.

[ROX]

Originally Posted by MattRoberts123

Ok guys, this may sound stupid, and maybe I missed something somewhere.. but no one seemed to discuss whether or not this thing really helped gas mileage??

I get the feeling that there is no formal opinion out on them yet. However, the good folks here at H2Source seem to think there would be no advantage to buying one other than the fact that it might add a small percentage of bling to the engine bay, and the sound of rushing water to your wallet.

[MDimitri]

Originally Posted by MattRoberts123

Ok guys, this may sound stupid, and maybe I missed something somewhere.. but no one seemed to discuss whether or not this thing really helped gas mileage??

Hell no....first of all you get the product delivered to you as a flat piece of metal, then you have to measure the intake tube so that you can cut the piece and fit it accordingly, almost forgot, you'll need to bend the fins also and form the shape of the vortex. You'll need to be careful not to overbend the fins or it won't work (oxymoron!). If you f**k up along the way such as by cutting too much away or bending it too much to fit it in the intake then good luck getting the POS out!! Do yourself a favour, scrap the POS air intake GM placed there and get an Airaid or K&N system with along with a high quality MAF (Mass Airflow Sensor), you'll get much more punch with every acceleration and your engine will thank you! You might even gain a couple of extra MPG's.

Whats an oxymoron you ask? Here are some examples:

arrogant humility, Artificial Grass, artificial intelligence, assistant supervisor, astronomically small,
athletic scholarship, Aunt Jemima Light, Auto Pilot, authentic replica, authentic reproduction, authoritarian anarchy, awfully good, awfully nice, Awfully pretty, Light traffic, limited immunity, limited incursion, limited lifetime guarantee, Limited Freedom, LIMITED NUCLEAR WAR, linear curve, liquid crystal, liquid gas, liquid metal, liquid natural gas, liquid smoke, lite beer, literal interpretation, literary illiterates, little big, little big horn, little bit big, little deceptive, little giant...

[mdoyle]

It doesn't help mileage, all it provides is an increased risk of damage to your engine.

The goal of a good intake system is to provide the proper fuel to air ratio for output demand, with liquid fuel the system atomizes the liquid and provides the right balance of air to support combustion. It of course is much more complicated than this because you have to deal with flame propogation, surface area, quench ratios and of course fluid dynamics.

One challenge is to keep the fuel atomized because the smaller the mist particles, the greater their surface area and the greater the efficiency of combustion. GM developed the Vortec cylinder head design to optimize the fluid dynamics of the fuel/air mixture but it is only after extensive testing and optimum conditions that the Vortec works well at all.

There is NO WAY an upstream mounted diffuser can impart a worthwhile vortex that will sustain through the intake path, much less the intake valve cycles. If anything this device will impair flow and decrease atomization of the fuel/air mix resulting in less output for the same amount of fuel.

You can believe whomever you want, I'm an Engineer of large rotating machines and have a fair amount of experience with turbines and IC engine design

[Mr. I - Man]

Bernoulli's Principal only applies at where the fuel and air are mixed anywhere downstream from the air intake module's butterfly valve.


B.S. Aviation Managment & Airway Science w/ a minor in Flight

[Goalkeeper]

Originally Posted by OldHiker

I have the HyperActive Flux-Capacitor and it works great. I get almost 75mpg!

Personally, I prefer the Continum Transfunctioner over the Flux Capacitor! I have seen an increase that approaches unquantifiable. Essentially, the last time I refueled was in 2004!

-Matt

[ROX]

Originally Posted by Mr. I - Man

Bernoulli's Principal only applies at where the fuel and air are mixed anywhere downstream from the air intake module's butterfly valve.


B.S. Aviation Managment & Airway Science w/ a minor in Flight

KEWL!! Could you and mdoyle please tell me how to get my Hummer to fly?